Planning a trip from souhern Virginia to Colorado with a travel trailer and would appreciate any suggestions for free/cheap places to “boondock/dry camp” which would be near rail activity/history. We would not want to camp right next to a busy mainline since even railfans like to sleep. We know about Walmart, Camping World, Flying J etc. Thanks for any suggestions.
Just a couple of suggestions: Check the ‘Welcome Centers’ as you come into a new state (Mainly on Interstates, but now quite a few on major secondary highways) at State Lines.
State Highway Department published maps (show RR lines w/names) are always a good resource. (Available at most manned Rest Areas and Welcome Centers.)
At many Rest Areas/Welcome Centers you’ll find free publications for that particular state, lists of activities, cap grounds and motels, we found these publications to have lots of coupons for services at reduced prices to the motels( reduced room rates), and tourist activities( reduced prices,etc.), and coupons good at restaurants as well, some pretty good values and some not so good ( like a free drink, tea, soda, or a desert with a meal).
Have a good trip!
Sad to say, not all state highway departments know that there are such things as railroads in their states. The official Utah map, for example, shows no railroads.
I have always appreciated the state maps that showed all of the rail lines; some may show only the lines with passenger service. And, those that do show all the lines may be hopelessly out of date as to the names of the roads.
As mentioned, the state-issued highway maps do show railroad tracks. However, I find that the American Map Road Atlas (“Large Scale - Large Type”) does not show railroad tracks. Perhaps of value to the original poster here, you will find that MapQuest does show railroad tracks (presumably active but perhaps not always), if one manually increases the zoom focus for the area around a specific town.
Johnny; I’m truly surprised! Twenty-one years of looking at this country through a windshield, and admittedly, I was only out West beyond the Rocies on several occasions. Primarily, I spent most of my career in the Eastern two/thirds, and have always found that most maps published through the various State Highway Departments were the most thorough. They reported county roads, state highways and many railroads, even when some were long gone.
They were a terrific adjunct to the Trucker (specific) Atlases published by R-M. ( THe fact that railroads old, and current was appreciated by me as I was able to see various point of RR interest and look for specific in certain areas. The Northest was it’s own case. Much better mamps were available at the various truckstops, NYC and even down to the county and in some twonship specific maps could be had for a cost; they were kind high even then, but a necessary expense, to survive and avoid local problematic situations (low wt bridges, and the like).
I’d guess that nowadays the State Specific railroad and road atlases advertised in TRAINS would be a good investment for seriously railfanning in specific areas. And one could always use the net for camping sites and that type of info, there maybe, are evena website or two (?) that would cater to railfans who want to c
Although the various state highway maps maybe free, they certainly leave alot to be desired when it comes to the lesser roads.
At about $20 each for a specific state, the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteers can’t be beat. They show all the rail lines (including some abandoned right of ways) along with every road down to the smallest cow-path. Some of the railroad-only specific locations are also shown, but I would imagine that these details vary from each state. I’m never without my Illinois one in the vehicle, along with Iowa and Wisconsin–because sometimes you aren’t quite sure where you may end up!
The DeLormes also list some campgrounds in the front of each atlas along with marking the symbols on the maps.
I’ve made it a point to purchase the specific states where I would be traveling through on vacation to Arizona and New Mexico and found that they are about the best.
Lance
Yes, they do. Last month, I was using some county roads in Indiana–which were not all shown on the official map of Indiana. The AAA map I had showed more detail in that area, and Streets and Trips showed even more detail. However, I do not trust Streets and Trips fully; Two years ago, I was directed to use an alley in my home town (in S. C.) when using the paved streets accomplished the same without the bumps in the ruts of the alley. Also, on one leg of our driving last month, Streets and Trips gave the direction to turn right when it was obvious that a left turn was necessary to continue on our way; I cannot recall any other such error.
Although I-70 St. Louis - KCMO - Denver is the more direct route to the scenic side of Colorado, don’t deny yourself the opportunity to drive U.S. 30 at least between Grand Island, Nebr. and Egbert, Wyo. The density of train traffic on the 100+ mile stretch between Gibbon and North Platte is a sight to behold, and the highway pretty well parallels the railroad most of the way.
I-80 to Laramie, Wyo. and then south on Wyo. 230 to Walden, Colorado and beyond is a good way to get to the western slope of the Continental Divide while avoiding a lot of Denver congestion and traffic. At Walden pickup Colo. 14 and take it to U.S. 40 west. After crossing the Continental Divide at Rabbit Ears Pass, Colo. 131 (south), located about 5-miles east of Steamboat Springs, is the road that parallels the “Moffat Line” that hosts a limited number of unit coal trains. Colo. 131 will take you to Bond near where the Moffatt Line and the D.& R.G.W. “Moffatt Tunnel Route” join up.
Another possibility would be to drive U.S. 30 through Brule, Nebr. and then take Nebr. 138 south to Big Springs. While in downtown Big Springs don’t cross the tracks, but instead continue west on that highway to Julesburg, Colo. At Julesburg, south of the U.P. mainline, you’ll find a Colorado Welcome Center and also I-76, the four lane highway that runs southwesterly into Denver.
ALTHOUGH, if this is your first trip by car out west, the view of the Colorado Rockies from I-70 at the El Rancho exit will take your breath away.
In addition to the above suggestings, I’d spend some time looking at US Forest Service maps in your area of interest. The online maps suck but you can get ‘hardcopy’ at selected ranger stations.
BLM lands also have inexpensive camping opportunities. Their site also redirects to a gov’t site (recreation.gov) that shows facilities from multiple agencies.
The source for the above map detail is the USGS, which also has downloadable online imagery and topo maps.